Cuisine & Conversation

From the Editor: Erica VanBoxel

Dec. 15, 2011

Photo By Mike Peters

One July evening I was enjoying dinner at Nukeo Thai in the Broadway district with a group of girlfriends before stepping outside to take in the sights and sounds of the Wednesday evening Farmers’ Market. It was at this dinner that one of the women proposed an idea to the rest of us. She lived in Phoenix before relocating to Green Bay and during her time in the southwest she participated in a monthly dinner group. In the group of ten there was a designated leader for each outing. That person was in charge of selecting the restaurant, coordinating the date, making a reservation and developing the conversation question. She was interested in starting a similar group with her new friends in Green Bay and asked if any of us would like to participate.

I didn’t hesitate; this seemed like a fantastic way to try new restaurants in the Green Bay and Fox Valley areas while forming closer friendships with a group of women. Our group was quickly formed and our first dinner was set at Koko Sushi Bar where I tried sashmi for the first time and learned about everyone’s favorite vacation memory. Since then we have tried the Italian fare of Caffé Mario, the Greek Saganaki (flaming cheese) at Appollon of Appleton and Hibachi style Japanese at Nakashima of Japan.

Each month has brought me new insight into each of the women, a deletable array of food to try and of course more laughs than I can count. It is a special evening I look forward to each month. A group photo is always taken along with photos of the entrées. A few of women write blog posts about our foodie adventures and everyone contributes ideas of restaurants we would like to go to in the future.

Food brings people together in so many ways! It is the centerpiece of most holidays. New relationships are often formed over romantic first date dinners. Photos are snapped as babies try their first tastes of real food. Families put their busy schedules on pause to dine around their kitchen tables. I encourage all of you to savour your meals with loved ones and perhaps start a monthly dinner group of your own with friends or family. Enjoy an issue that celebrates everything about food.